'Funeral Kings' makes triumphant return to Rhode Island

MATT & KEVIN McMANUS

JORDAN PUZZO, CHARLES ODEIA, DYLAN HARTIGAN & ALEX MAIZUS

Posted
Thursday, January 24, 2013 3:32 pm

Fresh off winning first prize for Best Picture at Flickers: Rhode Island International Film Festival, the independent film “Funeral Kings” has come back to the Ocean State for a limited engagement. The film, which was shot in Rhode Island using many local performers and crew, will open at the Cable Car Cinema in Providence on January 25.

“Funeral Kings” was written and directed by Warwick natives Matthew and Kevin McManus. Since opening in Austin at South by Southwest Film Festival last March, the film has had a whirlwind tour, playing festivals across the U.S. and Canada and winning Best Narrative Feature at the Arizona Underground Film Festival and Audience Award at the Santa Fe Independent Film Festival. After a deluge of positive press, including a rave review by Variety, the film opened theatrically at the world famous Grauman’s Chinese in Hollywood this past November.

“We’re more than thrilled to have the movie finally play an engagement in Providence,” said director Matthew McManus. “There are so many incredible Rhode Islanders involved in the film, we feel really fortunate to be able to bring it back home to them.”

Funeral Kings is a dark comedy about three booze drinking, cigarette smoking, foul-mouthed altar boys whose irreverent personalities eventually put them in a situation that is too big for them to handle. It stars three young actors, Dylan Hartigan (“The Stepford Wives,” “The Black Donnellys”), Alex Maizus (Broadway: “The Story of My Life”) and Jordan Puzzo (“Moonrise Kingdom”), and features performances from Kevin Corrigan (“The Departed,” “Pineapple Express,” “Fringe”) and Rhode Island’s own Michaela McManus (“Law & Order: SVU,” “The Vampire Diaries,” “Awake”). Locals served as producers and crew, with dozens of Rhode Islanders appearing in supporting and background roles.

The film plays the Cable Car before moving on to screenings at BUFF Film Festival in Malmö, Sweden in March and the Festival Mauvais Genre in Tours, France in April. It will be released for Video-On-Demand services on February 26.

Funeral Kings opens in Rhode Island at the Cable Car Cinema, 204 South Main St., Providence, Jan. 25. Information about show times, tickets and director Q&A’s are available at CableCarCinema.com. Information about Funeral Kings can be found by following the film’s Facebook page, Twitter @FuneralKings or website, FuneralKings.com.

“I grew up watching indie’s at Cable Car,” says McManus. “It’s my favorite place to catch a movie, and it’s pretty surreal to think our film will be on that same screen.”